Science has to be understood in its broadest sense, as a method for apprehending all observable reality, and not merely as an instrument for acquiring specialized knowledge.
Alexis CarrelRead
Discipline brings us effort, sacrifice and suffering. Later it brings us something of an inestimable value: something of which those who live only for pleasure, profit or amusement will always be deprived. This peculiar indefinable joy which one must have felt oneself to understand is the sign with which life marks its moment of triumph.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Discipline may involve struggle but ultimately leads to a deep and profound joy inaccessible to those who seek only pleasure.
This quote highlights the paradox of discipline: while it often requires significant effort, personal sacrifice, and even suffering, the rewards it brings are incomparable to those who pursue only superficial pleasures. The joy that comes from living a disciplined life is unique and profound, marking genuine successes and meaningful experiences that cannot be attained through hedonistic pursuits.
Themes
DisciplineJoySacrificePleasureEffort
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about personal growth during a workshop.
More from Alexis Carrel
All quotes →Man offers himself to God. He stands before Him like the canvas before the painter or the marble before the sculptor. At the same time he asks for His grace, expresses his needs and those of his brothers in suffering. Such a type of prayer demands complete renovation. The modest, the ignorant, and the poor are more capable of this self-denial than the rich and the intellectual.
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Hard conditions of life are indispensable to bringing out the best in human personality.
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A few observation and much reasoning lead to error; many observations and a little reasoning to truth.
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The first duty of society is to give each of its members the possibility of fulfilling his destiny. When it becomes incapable of performing this duty it must be transformed.
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Those who desire to rise as high as our human condition allows, must renounce intellectual pride, the omnipotence of clear thinking, belief in the absolute power of logic.
Alexis CarrelRead
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